Episodes 200
Avg. Duration 54m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.4 (626)
Since Nov 2022
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
80%
Hosting
feeds.captivate.fm

About This Podcast

The American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen address the questions we’re all asking in their podcast, “What the Hell Is Going On?” In conversational, informative and irreverent episodes, Pletka and Thiessen interview policymakers and experts, asking tough, probing questions about the most important foreign policy and security challenges facing the world today.

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Recent Episodes

WTH: Back to Combat in Iran? Miad Maleki Explains.

Jun 12, 2026 1h 6m

In his relentless pursuit of a deal with Iran, Donald Trump has now returned to military escalation, resuming combat operations and warning that the United States will seize Iran’s key oil export hub…

WTH Is Going On with Iran? General Jack Keane Explains.

Jun 04, 2026 1h 20m

We’re now in the eighth week of a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Trump Administration is stuck in a holding pattern as Iranian negotiators continue to ignore US redlines and both sides insist on…

WTH Are Your Tax Dollars Funding Terrorism? Adam Kaplan Explains.

May 29, 2026 1h 6m

The United States has poured billions into the United Nations to fund relief works, but not all that money goes where you might think. Years of impunity have allowed murder, rape, kidnapping and…

WTH Do Democrats Really Oppose Deportations? Howard Husock Explains.

May 21, 2026 50m

With the 2030 Census fast approaching, battles over redistricting and congressional apportionment continue to take shape. As population shifts continue, driven by migration from blue states to red…

WTH: Did the Supreme Court Gut the Voting Rights Act? Sarah Isgur Debunks.

May 14, 2026 55m

Last week, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana congressional map in a 6–3 decision tied to a 1986 amendment to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. As Sarah Isgur explains, “What the Supreme…

WTH: Is the Iran War Depleting Key Munitions? Mark Cancian and Chris Park Explain.

Apr 30, 2026 1h 5m

While we celebrate the US military's accomplishments over the first forty days of the Iran conflict, a less desirable outcome has been the significant expenditure of munitions and reallocation of…

WTH Is Going On In Lebanon? Ambassador David Hale Explains.

Apr 23, 2026 1h

On the eve of talks in Washington between leaders in Lebanon and Israel, Beirut has signaled a push to extend the 10-day, U.S.-mediated ceasefire set to expire this Sunday. The ongoing conflict with…

WTH: The Iran Blockade? Miad Maleki Explains.

Apr 16, 2026 1h

One week after claims of an "Iranian victory", with Tehran supposedly leveraging the Strait of Hormuz and outmaneuvering Donald Trump, the narrative has shifted. U.S. and allied naval forces have…

WTH Is Going On With NATO? Secretary General Mark Rutte Explains.

Apr 10, 2026 39m

Against the backdrop of Operation Epic Fury and President Trump’s frustration with military support from NATO allies, Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Washington to discuss the alliance’s…

WTH: The Mythical MAGA Split on Iran. Kristen Soltis Anderson Explains.

Apr 02, 2026 1h 3m

The story from mainstream media is that the core of MAGA is "split" on the war with Iran, strikes in Venezuela, the Houthis, and other Trump 2.0 international policies. This supposed "MAGA schism"…

WTH Is Next in Iran? Israeli Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter Explains.

Mar 30, 2026 55m

Operation Roaring Lion, now in its fourth week, has been a striking display of military coordination between the United States and Israel. Building on the success of decapitating Iran’s senior leaders…

WTH: Trump's Iran Endgame. General Jack Keane Explains.

Mar 25, 2026 1h 4m

Three weeks into Operation Epic Fury, we share cautious optimism with General Jack Keane on the current state of our military operation in Iran. News of Donald Trump's negotiations with Tehran and an…

WTH Extra! Defining Victory in Iran. Dany and Marc Discuss.

Mar 19, 2026 43m

On this episode of WTH Extra! Dany and Marc discuss their recent pieces on the war in Iran and the media coverage that has followed. Marc writes for the Post, What is the definition of victory in…

WTH: Spyware on Wheels. Chris Miller Explains the Chinese Threat Inside Your Car.

Mar 12, 2026 48m

Our WTH saga on Chinese espionage continues with a new installment on the technology inside your car. Chris Miller details “Huawei on wheels”: the security threat posed by Chinese EVs, whose sensors,…

WTH: War in Iran. David Albright Explains the Nuclear Threat.

Mar 03, 2026 1h 17m

Over the weekend, President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, the most ambitious US military operation in decades. In the wake of the 2025 12-Day War, Iran again worked to reconstitute its nuclear…

WTH: Four Years of Putin's War in Ukraine. Frederick W. Kagan Illuminates.

Feb 25, 2026 1h 11m

Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Four years of war in which Russian forces have occupied roughly one and a half percent of Ukraine’s territory at the cost of…

WTH Does a Chinese Billionaire Need 100 American Children? Charles Hilu Explains.

Feb 19, 2026 52m

Blame it on American individualism or a political aversion to regulation, but the United States has become a striking outlier in its failure to regulate the assisted reproductive technology industry.…

WTH Do We Need Greenland? Alexander Gray Explains.

Feb 12, 2026 1h 1m

In addition to the media blitz over Greenland triggered by President Trump, American presidents going back a century have agreed on the strategic importance of the island due to its fundamental…

WTH Is Going on with the CCP Purge in China? John Garnaut Explains.

Feb 05, 2026 53m

Kremlinology has made its way east as analysts try to make sense of dramatic PLA purges under Xi Jinping. The CCP regime appears to be clearing house, but what does it all mean? Should there be a…

WTH Can’t Putin Afford to Fail in Ukraine? Michael Tory Explains How He Will.

Jan 29, 2026 49m

With regime change brewing in Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran, and the Russian war of attrition still marching on, Cold War déjà vu shapes our understanding of what happens when regimes do fall and offers…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does What the Hell Is Going On have?

What the Hell Is Going On has published 200 episodes since November 2022, covering topics in Government, History.

Is What the Hell Is Going On still active?

What the Hell Is Going On is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 54m.

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